Surpassing Standards in the Elementary Classroom: Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement Through Educational Drama (Counterpoints)

Surpassing Standards in the Elementary Classroom outlines a new theoretical and practical approach to classroom instruction and student achievement in language arts and social studies. This inspirational guide provides elementary classroom teachers with comprehensive, easy-to-implement lesson plans and specific activities that engage and integrate emotional intelligence skills in order to empower intellectual understanding within the academic curriculum. The book would be an asset for undergraduate or graduate courses or teacher training programs that deal with elementary education, educational theory and practice, curriculum development, content and instructional styles, and is a valuable tool for elementary school teachers and counselors, administrators, staff developers, college students training to be teachers, and professional development and staff training seminars.

The Author: Lee R. Chasen is the founding director of Kid Esteem Inc., a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to the emotional and social intelligence of children, families, schools, and communities. Chasen has two Master’s degrees in education and a Ph.D. in educational theatre from New York University. A registered drama therapist and a New York State-licensed creative arts therapist, Chasen contributed a chapter to the text Clinical Applications of Drama Therapy in Child and Adolescent Treatment (2005) entitled «Spectacle and Ensemble in Group Drama Therapy Treatment for Children with ADHD and Related Neurological Syndromes».